What actually sets Indiana apart
The 1% circuit breaker gives Indiana something most states lack: a hard ceiling on what a homestead can be charged relative to its assessed value. It makes the worst case unusually easy to budget for, because your bill on an owner-occupied home cannot exceed 1% of gross assessed value however local levies move.
Property taxes in Indiana at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 0.74% of home value per year
- Median home value: $201,600
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $1,496 per year (about $125 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 31st of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 42nd of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Indiana statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
Why the Indiana rate overstates the bill
Indiana ranks 31st of the fifty on rate but only 42nd on the bill itself — 11 places lower. The percentage reads worse than the cheque does, because it is applied to a median home value of $201,600.
Hawaii is the mirror image: a rate of 0.27%, well under the 0.74% charged here, and a median bill near $2,183 — about $687 more a year than an Indiana owner pays.
How Indiana works out what you owe
Property is assessed at market value-in-use, an Indiana-specific standard based on the value of the property in its current use rather than its highest and best use.
A constitutional circuit breaker caps the bill at 1% of gross assessed value for a homestead, 2% for other residential and farm ground, and 3% for commercial property.
Exemptions Indiana homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces an Indiana bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Standard homestead deduction: A deduction from the assessed value of a principal residence, followed by a supplemental deduction calculated as a percentage of what remains.
- Mortgage, over-65 and disability deductions: Additional deductions apply to owners aged 65 or older within income and value limits, and to blind or disabled owners.
Where you buy inside Indiana changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Indiana:
- Marion County: Indianapolis, where the circuit breaker binds on a large share of parcels and shapes what local government can raise
- Lake County: the north-west corner near Chicago, historically the highest-rate county in the state
- Hamilton County: Carmel and Fishers, where high values rather than high rates drive the dollar bill
Indiana and its neighbours
The same $201,600 — the Indiana median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- Michigan at 1.28%: about $2,580 a year, roughly $1,084 more than the $1,496 an Indiana owner would pay on the same value.
- Ohio at 1.36%: about $2,742 a year, roughly $1,246 more than the $1,496 an Indiana owner would pay on the same value.
- Kentucky at 0.77%: about $1,552 a year, roughly $56 more than the $1,496 an Indiana owner would pay on the same value.
- Illinois at 2.07%: about $4,173 a year, roughly $2,677 more than the $1,496 an Indiana owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing an Indiana assessment
If the assessed value on your Indiana home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the county Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals. The window is within 45 days of the notice of assessment, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Indiana property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
Bills are issued in the spring, with instalments due 10 May and 10 November. Deductions are filed with the county auditor and must be on file by the end of the year to apply to the following year's bill.
Does this calculator use my exact Indiana county tax rate?
No — it applies the Indiana statewide average of 0.74%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Indiana is wide enough to matter: on a $201,600 home, $495 a year separates Indiana from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Indiana county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.